The Blue Tide — Shino Wood-Fired Teacup

The Blue Tide

This cup carries the ocean inside it. The interior is flooded with a vivid blue-white glaze that has pooled and shifted during firing into a pattern of interlocking forms — part pebble beach, part tide pool, part aerial view of a frozen sea. No two areas are the same. The blue deepens at the centre and lightens toward the rim, where it meets the raw, iron-speckled edge of the clay. The exterior is quieter — a warm, sandy Shino glaze, pocked and textured from the wood-fire, with flashes of iron-brown and ash-grey breaking through. It is a cup of two worlds: the wild interior, and the weathered exterior that contains it.

Glaze & Surface

The interior is covered in a flowing blue-white Shino glaze that has moved freely during firing, creating an organic, map-like pattern of blue pools and white islands. The colour shifts from deep cobalt at the base to pale sky-blue near the rim — luminous and alive. The exterior carries a warm, sandy Shino glaze with a fine, pitted texture from the wood-fire atmosphere. Iron-brown and ash-grey tones emerge through the glaze where the flame has touched the surface most directly. The rim is raw and uneven, with the glaze thinning and darkening at the edge.

Form & Feel

• Cylindrical form with a gently tapered rim — clean and direct
• Comfortable in the hand, with a solid, grounded weight
• Smooth interior glaze — pleasant to drink from
• Textured exterior — satisfying to hold

The Wood-Fire

This cup was fired in a wood-burning kiln, where flame, ash, and atmosphere leave their mark directly on the clay and glaze. The blue interior glaze responds to the kiln's heat and chemistry in ways that cannot be predicted or repeated — each firing produces a unique result. The sandy exterior texture, the iron flashing, the raw rim: all are signatures of the wood-fire process. This is a cup that could only have been made this way.

For the collector drawn to the meeting of earth and water. A cup that changes with the light, and rewards close attention. One of a kind, never to be repeated.

Care

Suitable for contact with tea. Hand wash gently and avoid abrasive cleaners. Variations and firing marks are part of this one-of-a-kind handmade piece.